1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slicing method and slicing apparatus adaptable for use in cutting and separating an object to be machined, such as a ceramics wafer, for example.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, in order to obtain a great number of chips by cutting and separating a ceramics wafer, a slicing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 has been employed. This slicing apparatus is constructed such that a wafer 2 comprising an object to be machined is bonded onto a self-adhesive sheet 1, which sheet is held by suction force above a slicing table 3. While causing a slicing blade 4 consisting of a rotary blade to rotate at a predetermined position, the table 3 is driven by a ball screw mechanism or the like to move in the x-axis direction, thereby cutting the wafer 2.
In the case of employing the slicing apparatus for cutting the wafer 2, it can happen that the actual polishing/cutting amount of wafer 2 varies due to decentering D of the slicing blade 4 and/or due to x- and y-axis directional vibrations of a principal shaft 5 which drives the slicing blade 4. This can result in an increase in variation of the load as applied to the wafer 2. Accordingly, the apparatus has a problem in that the wafer 2 can crack or suffer from a "chipping" phenomenon. One available approach to avoid this problem is to reduce the machining speed; however, this has the negative consequence of reducing productivity.